Bhagavad Gita: The Beloved Lord's Secret Love Song – The Elegant Translation of Krishna's Sacred Hindu Scripture

by Graham M. Schweig

The Bhagavad Gita is often regarded as the Bible of India. With a gripping story and deeply compelling message, it is unquestionably one of the most popular sacred texts of Asia and, along with the Bible and the Qur'an, one of the most important holy scriptures in the world.

Part of an ancient Hindu epic poem, the dialogue of the Bhagavad Gita takes place on a battlefield, where a war for the possession of a North Indian kingdom is about to ensue between two noble families related by blood. The epic's hero, young Prince Arjuna, is torn between his duty as a warrior and his revulsion at the thought of his brothers and cousins killing each other over control of the realm. Frozen by this ethical dilemma, he debates the big questions of life and death with the supreme Hindu deity Krishna, cleverly disguised as his charioteer. By the end of the story, Eastern beliefs about mortality and reincarnation, the vision and practice of yoga, the Indian social order and its responsibilities, family loyalty, spiritual knowledge, and the loftiest pursuits of the human heart are explored in depth. Explaining the very purpose of life and existence, this classic has stood the test of twenty-three centuries. It is presented here in a thoroughly accurate, illuminating, and beautiful translation that is sure to become the standard for our day.

Genres: Religion, Classics, Spirituality, Hinduism, Philosophy, Poetry, India

322 pages, Paperback

First published January 16, 2010

About the author

Graham M. Schweig is the author and translator of Dance of Divine Love: The Råsa Lîlå of Krishna. After completing graduate work at the University of Chicago and Harvard University, he became associate professor of religious studies at Christopher Newport University and visiting associate professor of Sanskrit at the University of Virginia. Schweig was recently a Visiting Fellow of Hindu studies at Oxford University, and has been accepted as a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University. He has traveled to India several times where for one year, under a Smithsonian Institution-funded grant, he researched ancient handwritten manuscripts. Since an early age, Schweig has practiced various forms of meditational and devotional yoga.

Reviews

[Carie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spent ten years like most Americans who do yoga, using the practice as an antidote to city stress, as calisthenic goldenseal after a party weekend, and to keep my tummy flat. Since I've recently become aware of the profound tradition that informs our misguided versions of yoga practice (tell ya right now, the 1000-degree-room-thing isn't in the scripture), I'm 1) kind of embarrassed for being so ignorant, 2) on a mission to get smarter, and 3) hoping that I can convince other people of how much happier they could be if they started looking deeper into what yoga means. Basically, yoga was designed to be the Hydrogen Bomb in our battle to win a wise, compassionate, and (they say) eternal life, and we're over here just shooting it off for fireworks.

So, the Bhagavad Gita is a sacred Hindu scripture in which Krishna (blue-skinned Master of Space and Time) advises Arjuna (slightly doofy warrior-jock with a heart of gold) on how to embrace the divine and find joy. The word "yoga" is used a zillion times, and not one description of a bendy shape or purple mat. WHY? Because in the spiritual dictionary, our definition of yoga is, like, number 27 after a lot of way more important and subtle meanings.

I chose this edition because it also contains the full scripture in Sanskrit, which is the great-great-great Grandmother to English and is, like, way more gorgeous and fun to pronounce than crusty old Grampa Latin!

CAVEAT: if I didn't have amazing teachers in my life, this text would fly right over my head, and as it is, I only grasp a fraction of its power. But it can't hurt anyone to read a text that has been so deeply beloved by so many people over so many thousands (you hear me?) THOUSANDS of years!

[Rama Rao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finding Love in BhagavadGita

This English translation is focused on the meditational and spiritual significance of the holy book. The translation retains the original ideas and the poetical essence. The author suggests that the wisdom of BhagavadGita is focused on the practice of yoga. The holy book discusses several forms of yoga to attain a state of transcendental consciousness and ultimately be united with the divine. At the highest level, yoga is a secret state of the union within the supreme love, bestowed by divinity who is also sublimed in this union. It is the power of love and devotion that transforms the heart to which the divinity submits.

Primary forms of yoga for individual souls are the yoga of action, karma-yoga (Chapter 3); yoga of knowledge, jnana-yoga (Chapter 4); yoga of renunciation, sanyasa-yoga (Chapter 5); yoga of meditation, dhyana-yoga (Chapter 6), and yoga of love, bhakti-yoga (chapter 12). The primary forms of yoga for divinity the supreme soul is; the yoga of divine power, vibhuti-yoga (Chapter 10); yoga of the universal form, visva-rupa yoga (Chapter 11); and the yoga of ultimate person, purusottama-yoga.

Souls appear to be in a deterministic universe from which the qualities or gunas, such as, sattva, rajas, and tamas dominate their lives, but souls are influenced by the laws of dharma. BhagavadGita teaches that serving the Lord Krishna will liberate the soul. He reveals his manifestation of his omnipotence as the Vishwa Rupa in chapter 11.

The author concludes that Gita is the Lord Krishna’s love song. This is the blessed gift of the divine that preaches the love for god, and bhakti-yoga is one of the major paths to attain unification with the Supreme Lord. The rendering of Gita in English is graceful in illustrating the Lord’s love. The second half of this book gives the English transliteration, and in the last section, the author interprets the spiritual and metaphysical aspects of BhagavadGita. The highlight of the book is that the English translation reflects on the poetical essence of Gita; the author specifies verses; BhagavadGita 4.3; 6.5; 6.30; 7.17; and 18.64 to illustrate his uniqueness in translation. I have compared his translation with the translations of Sir Edwin Arnold, Sri Aurobindo, Mohini Chatterji, Swami Mukundananda, and Shri Purohit Swami. All of them have about the same level creativity. One example is given below:

1. BhagavadGita 6:30

(Graham Schweig Translation)
One who sees me everywhere
And sees all things in me,
To such a person I am never lost
Nor is such a person is ever lost to me

(Sir Edwin Arnold Translation)
And whoso thus Discerneth Me
in all, and all in Me,
I never let him go; nor looseneth
He Hold upon Me

(Swami Mukundananda Translation)
For those who see me everywhere
and see all things in me,
I am never lost,
nor are they ever lost to me.

(Mohini Chatterji Translation)
Who sees me everywhere,
And sees everything in me
for him I am not lost,
nor is he lost for me.

(Shri Purohit Swami Translation)
He who sees Me in everything
and everything in Me,
him shall I never forsake,
nor shall he lose Me

(Sri Aurobindo Translation)
He who sees Me everywhere
and sees all in Me. To him I
do not get lost, nor does
he get lost to me.

[Bali Briant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a book review.

Before there were Joyce, Faulkner, Woolf, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Nabokov, the modernist novel; before Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot; before thinkers like Darwin, Freud, Einstein, and Nietzsche; or Conrad, Flaubert, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy; before the novel was born with Cervantes or the essay with Michel de Montaigne; before monotheism was allegedly born from the loins of Abraham; before the very birth of western thought, somewhere off in Greece—before Socrates drunk hemlock; before Leda and the Swan, when from rape were born the end of Troy, rise of Greece, inception of western history; before Babylon; sometime concurrent with the birth itself of western civilization at Sumer in the plains of Mesopotamia, land between Tigris and Euphrates, but more than three thousand kilometers to the east, occurred at that time upon the field of Kuru, in a nation now called India, a state now called Haryana, the dialogue of the Bhagavad Gītā, wherein before the inception of western thought and of its great proponents into the wombs of women, their purpose, to understand and to expound life’s meanings and secrets, was fulfilled in a single conversation—that conversation has been preserved ad infinitum as the Bhagavad Gītā. That conversation is available to you here.

This is not a book review because our history of books is short, the Bhagavad Gītā’s long—it stretches across many centuries before the inventions of Johannes Gutenberg. And I do not equate my love of the Bhagavad Gītā with my love of books, for its content cannot be measured in the collected literature of over two-score centuries. I have a great love of books. My love of the Bhagavad Gītā is not like that, for it is not so much a personal interest, the acculturation of one lifetime, as a tenet not only of me (body, mind, or soul), or of a congregation or a religion, or even of all humanity, but of the aggregate energy of all manifestation, of a cosmos that stretches ever beyond our boundaried perception of the universe, and of the reaches of energetic manifestation that stretch beyond our one universe and beyond all universes, pervading and extending beyond all material possibility; of humanity’s cogitative form before its corporeal initiation, or its divine form before subtle cogitation.

This is not a book review; it would be wrong to apprehend the Bhagavad Gītā as merely a book. But this is not an abstract philosophical dissertation, it is a recommendation for reading. Graham Schweig is responsible for an insuperable, transparent transmission of Bhagavad Gītā—in all its elusive, enigmatic, and yet personal, relatable, conversational, divine truth; what you may hold before you is a book, but don’t underestimate its potency to transcend form, exceed readerly expectations, and elevate consciousness beyond human bondage to divine freedom.

This you may call a book recommendation.

[Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully accurate translation from Sanskrit - SO accurate that unfortunately Krisna does not say verbatim "I am become death" sorry folks xx

[Mohit Dhanjani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this book by chance.
I had started reading 'Māyā in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa' by Gopal K. Gupta, and in that a verse was quoted from this particular book.
I always wanted to read Bhagavad Gita, but was unsure as to which particular English translation will be more accessible and authoritative.

I was sceptical to read any translation done by western academicians. But I was equally sceptical of reading any translation done by Swamis who are more inclined towards spiritual side and might use a language which is not strictly academic.

I was also sceptical because of this book's subtitle i.e. "The Beloved Lord's Secret Love Song". I am a follower of Swami Sarvapriyananda, and the much I was able to decipher Gita was that it is all about moksh (liberation). Nothing more. Therefore, it was pretty hard for me to accept this claim of "secret love song".

However, it all turned out to be great! Translation is pretty neat. Undoubtedly, the Sanskrit and Hindi text will be better, but given the choice of words, this book has done great job. The footnotes are extremely helpful.

The even better part of this book was the chapter 'The Secret Love Song' under the 'Textual Illuminations' section. This is where the author has justified his claim, and given a brilliant logical explanation as to why it's all about secret love song. To quote the most important part...

Despite the infinite and absolute fullness of his [Krishna's] being, he yearns for one thing that is not within his possession or under his control — the human heart. Thus the divinity experiences some incompleteness within his divine completeness, and longs for what he does not possess. Krishna therefore sends out his secret love call, a song coming from his heart to all hearts, which is the unifying message of the Gita.

By the end of this book, I was convinced of author's claim.

It is a must read book. Apart from the priceless value of Gita itself, it is very well formatted and readable book.

[Hurricanekerrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was inspired to read the Bhagavad Gita for a second time after reading about the Battle of Kurukshetra in Christopher Pike's Thirst V (oh, yes, it goes there.) Reading a book like the Bhagavad Gita, one must have no preconceptions and prejudices, one must be empty of mindless thoughts. Indeed, Krishna talks about this in the book. While reading, I felt hypnotized by the text-- I don't know if it was the flow of the text or the words, the repetitiveness or the unknown, foreign words... but Krishna's words have that effect on me. As a reader, I am truthfully, like Arjuna, confused and needing guidance.

This version by Graham Schweig is a very accessible translation. I was especially grateful for the footnotes. I also liked the commentary-- it seemed more scholarly than preachy to me.

Honestly, I have to say I still don't understand the Bhagavad Gita 100% and that is okay. People read and study this book for years to attain yoga and still don't have a good understanding of it. I will probably pick up this book again in the future, hopefully then, I would have gained at least an incremental understanding of the text. Socrates said it best, the best knowledge is knowing you know nothing.

[Janavi Held · Rating 5 out of 5]

This translation of the Bhagavad-Gita reveals that the teachings of the Gita are not the teachings of a particular religion, but of a purely non-sectarian spiritual science. Guided by his friend Krishna, Arjuna struggles with the big questions of life, as well as how to deal with the heart-rending task at hand: facing-off with relatives, friends, and teachers on the battlefield of Kurukshetra (which, today, is a city in the state of Haryana in India). It is a guide for living, and revelation of the nature of the universe, the soul, and most importantly the soul’s relationship with the Supreme Soul, as Dr. Schweig states in his introduction: “…..Indeed, this divine intimacy is revealed in the form of a dialogue that takes the soul on an inward journey culminating in the ultimate state of yoga, in which souls unite with the heart of God.”

There are many translations of this 5,000 year old Sanskrit text and many of them have been edited down, or not translated literally, and I have found that those translations leave Krishna’s teachings a bit murky, but, Dr. Schweig’s translation is a literal translation from the original Sanskrit, thoroughly poetic, and clearly remains true to the original message of the Gita in every chapter, verse and word.

[Visakha Dasi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graham Schweig's scholarship in both Sanskrit and English is clearly evident in this articulate and authentic translation of the Gita's 700 verses. As Schweig himself writes, "Every verse of the Bhagavad-gita is a meditation," and in his translation the reader can feel the depth of Schweig's own meditation as he makes the Gita's remarkable teachings readily accessible to his reader. Plus, Schweig's unique, highly readable Textual Illuminations toward the end of the book beautifully clarify and unify the Gita's incredibly sublime message.

[Ellen Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

gender neutral translation!
you can read it without being so distracted by the use of the word "man" to mean "person." This is huge, because it is so common throughout the text and because it irritated me so that I couldn't get the true benefit of this classic scripture.
Also I liked being able to read the text without commentary added, just an essay at beginning and one at the end. Appendix with the Sanskrit transliterated into the Roman alphabet if you want to check the original language or recite part of it.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a gorgeous translation. I thought I was swept up by Eknath Easwaran's translation, but this one . . . reading it felt like standing on a beach with the wind blowing through hair. I felt so inspired and comforted.

I'd love to read this once every year...

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second translation of the BG I have read, the other of which was Stephen Mitchell's.

This one was FAR superior, in every way.

The footnotes add tremendously to the read and help clarify translational choices.

Amazing.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very inspirational and thought provoking book. I recommend.

[Alfia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The content of the Bhagavad Gita itself surprised me. Being familiar with the great stories of the Mahabharata leading up to the battle on Kuru Field, and having heard that the battle ended with a profound massacre, I wasn't expecting to read the justification for killing one's relatives that I did. I may have missed the chapter on attempted diplomatic relations, or strategies that involved getting rid of just the key trouble-makers, namely Duryodana and his inner circle. Why was it imperative that so many should die a horrible, bloody death when the conscientious general Arjuna considered it wrong? The answer may surprise you.

Long story short - on the cosmic scale it doesn't matter, and we all die anyway, so here's a program to calm your mind and achieve balance. It's a big secret, so know that you are extra special to be hearing it. In return, you should realize your inborn duty to your family and caste, and worship me, your charioteer, because I am actually the first and top God, and if you love and worship me as I love you, good things will happen to you.

From this translation:

"..Even without you, they shall cease to be - Those who are warriors arrayed on the opposing side.
Therefore you must rise up, aspire to glory; Conquering your enemies, enjoy prosperous kingship! By me these very men have already been slain - Merely be the instrument, O Masterful Archer.
.. Drona and Bhishma..as well as other warrior heroes are already slain by me; do not hesitate - you must slay them!"
- Krishna, BG 11:32-34

This would all be well and good if it weren't accompanied by an awful lot of rhetoric urging people to act without caring about the fruits, or rewards of one's actions. This, coupled with a lot of grandiose god-posturing with talk of ultimate splendour, love and punishment, good vs. bad traits, threats and promises if one obeys what is, after all, the inevitable result of following one's dharma - was unsettling. A good deal of Krishna's self-description reminded me of self-descriptions of the gods of the Old Testament/Torah and of Jesus.

The translator writes as a fully convinced, religious devotee of Krishna, so keep in mind that this is the perspective from which the "Textual Illuminations" flow. He claims that there is an argument implicit in the BG that free will is earned. How? Only by not caring about the fruits of your actions, and by obeying the strictures of your inborn nature/dharma, and by loving and worshipping this god and this god only, will a person achieve free will. I do not see that anywhere, nor does that argument make any sense to me.

The more coherent part of the BG is the description of the various yogas (unions), how these could be achieved, and their impact on decision-making clarity. The text gives some actual tips on how to breathe and think during meditation. Unfortunately these are repeatedly clouded by loopholes to being a balanced or good person that involve loving and worshipping Krishna, whatever that means. There are mentions of how misdeeds could be forgiven if only the person loves and worships only this god. (BG 5:17, 25; 7:28).

The "divine" or sattvic nature described (that is rewarded by Krishna with moving up rather than down the caste ladder in your next birth 4:13, 15:18) is said to include compassion for all beings (5:25, 12:4, 16:2), which in my book doesn't square with slaughtering all your relatives and their hired soldiers. And at the beginning of the BG, Arjuna agrees with me. What makes him change his mind seems to be a nihilistic and exploitative argument masquerading as a yoga lesson + cosmic perspective. Why Krishna needs to display himself as a terrifying seraphim-chimera is unclear, unless it is a simple display of power designed to inspire awe - which it does. The repeated love-bombing in the face of egging someone on to do something violent against their will is a red flag. K. even goes so far as to suggest that free will is selfish! Chapter 18 is a doozy. I guess I prefer a more honest argument for going to war.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, I was shocked and amazed at how great this book is. Guess I shouldn't be surprised at any enduring religious foundational work being so amazing. But still, super eye opening on what I'd really only heard by heresay before.

I was also surprised at how Christian it seemed to me. Especially had lots of John feel to it. This predates John's writings, of course. Schweig kept contrasting with Western and Biblical traditions, but that might be more about European, Protestant, and especially Puritan-style backgrounds. No atonement or sacrifice for sin in this work, though, so the real core of Christianity is missing, but so much of the attitude and statements otherwise really are surprisingly similar. At least to me view.

I'd love to see a side-by-side sometime with Biblical and other scriptural works on similar-sounding verses.

There's also stuff that I don't appreciate here (definitely pushes the caste system hard, for example), but that's to be said about any work.

I can't compare to other translations. Haven't read any and don't really have any background. I did enjoy the translator's notes on his goals in translation, and it seems like at least one good way to approach it. I enjoyed the translator's discussions overall, actually, though the footnotes sometimes helped and sometimes got tedious. He references other interpretations, but I can't say how these interpretation really compare to others, because, again, I have no background in that.

[B. Rule · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great translation of the Gita. I was strongly impressed with Schweig's ability to provide clear text that maintains a simple poetry, while also keeping it gender-neutral and universal. He includes a lot of footnotes that clarify technical terms and dramatis personae, but it doesn't interfere with the flow of the text.

Further, the concluding essay is an excellent exegesis of the theology and cosmology of the text, that doesn't get lost in mystical obscurantism or a dry comparative religion approach. Schweig takes the teachings of the text seriously, but he makes it accessible to those outside that faith tradition. Great edition of a formative religious text.

One aspect that stood out to me on this reading was the metatextual playfulness of the Bhagavad Gita. It's presented as Sanjaya relating accounts of hidden events on a distant battlefield and/or internal conversations of the heart between Arjuna and Krishna, but it's also Vyasa as author recounting the recursive layers of revelation. Schweig touches briefly on this structuring of the text, but I would have loved for him to explore it further. It gives the text an interesting depth and plays into the larger theme of the refractive and successive revelation of unity underlying the world of appearances, unfolding as the act of conversation between elements of a loving supreme divine person. Who is the self that understands?

[kiran tator · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS ATE!!!! I’M SORRY!!!!!! I’m not converting to hinduism by any means but the idea of letting all things flow through you rather than control you will probably stick with me forever. ALSO. this is my favorite religious text so far in the sense of divine retribution, because there is none in a way. you are responsible for your actions. You’re not responsible for the consequences, but when you make a decision that makes YOU a certain type of person. This translation was not concise by any means and admittedly slightly repetitive but I will be going to my professor’s office hours with a list of questions about this text.

[blaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't quite know how to review a religious text. The very idea of it seems rather profane to me. Any text that has had over 2000 years of staying power tends to hold some deep wisdom in it, and this is the case here too. I'm sure many things flew over my head while reading, due to my lack of familiarity with Hinduism generally and my remove from its cultural context, but Schweig's translation was very readable and had a poetic quality to it. Definitely something I'll revisit in future.

[Michael Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite a dry read. Compared to the ISKCON translation. Which is surprising because I don't completely agree with that one. I think this one may be more accurate as in my online course on the Bhagavad Gita with Seth Powell we used this text. I don't particularly feel more enlightened or that I have any new or novel revelations but I like that he translated Deva as divinities as opposed to Prabhupad's translation as Demigod, and instead of demoniac nature he translated it as ungodly.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for any spiritual seeker, the spiritually curious, and lovers of The Divine. I encourage people of all faiths to read The Gita. The powerful Love of the Divine toward all souls is a message that will shine in your heart.

[Nikki Basten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as part of Yoga Teacher Training. While I might not resonate with a divine being, the underlying message transcends whatever faith may resonate with you and is a message of bringing change to a world often centered on objects instead of others.

[Sally Kilpatrick]

So I've read this book AND the commentary because I'm the weirdo that read "The Custom House" before The Scarlet Letter even though I didn't have to.

Honestly? Still processing because I don't want to say anything insensitive about a text that is sacred to others.

[Rachel Voltz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best professor I have ever had, it's the easiest translation of the Bhagavad Gita I've ever read and it really makes you think.

[Uschi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting but not an easy read but was fortunate enough to read in a book club and we discussed the concepts.

[Niksa Srsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find it poetic, sweet and lovely translation and explanations.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Bhagavad Gita is lovely and beautiful. This translation was not my favorite though. It is very prose-y and I felt like it lost a lot of its beautiful poetic quality. Additionally, I did not like how familiar concepts like "gunas" are translated into "qualities," which I found more confusing than just leaving them as they are originally. That said, the message is always good and this is fair translation.

[Deborah Bosner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful translation of one of the world’s primary sacred texts. The text was quite understandable with copious helpful footnotes. Loved the interpretation/discussion that followed by the author. Also provides the original text in Sanscrit and a guide for speaking out loud. I will return to this version again and again.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing has changed in the relationship between men and women, and those chose to fulfill missions whether they knew it or not or wanted it or not.

A beautiful read and a must read to understand current Indian literature.

[Jolinda Eibert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had to read in my Humanities colloquium class. Some things I still don't get because I can't cross through the cultural barriers.

[Susan]

retrieve from the library again some day

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will be reading this again many times over. I am now convinced that this is indeed an important and beautiful book